Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Rafael's Story - From Skin and Bones to Happy Dog

I may be a selfish
diva coonhound but I have a soft spot in my heart for a dog named Rafael. You
see, last October Rafael was rescued by the same people that rescued me in
Santa Fe.

But Rafael
almost didn't make it. He was shivering, all skin and bones, in the village of
Pojoaque just north of Santa Fe. A kind man spotted him, wrapped him up in a
blanket and called Animal Control. They took him to the Vet's at the Animal
Shelter in Santa Fe. And lucky for Rafael, they have the funds, the expertise
and time to go the extra mile for animals like Rafael.

When Raphael
first arrived, he weighed just 45 pounds. Now he's up to 64 pounds. Once he
reaches 75 pounds, he will either be placed in a foster home or if he's well
enough, he’ll be adopted. When he first got there, they had to be very careful
not to feed him too much at once. They fed him every two hours by hand. They
did all the tests to determine what might be wrong with him.

This is Rafael when they first found him

Once they
put his photo and story up on the Santa Fe Animal Shelter Facebook page, I was
hooked. I looked for photos of him every day. I wanted to know that he was
gaining weight. You know, I was skinny when I was picked up off the streets of
Santa Fe BUT NOT THAT SKINNY!

I also was
scared to tell my readers about Rafael. So I waited until I knew he was gonna
do well. I loved it when they posted videos of him wagging his tale, walking
outside and wearing his wardrobe of sweaters.

Here's Rafael now. He's looking for things to hunt.
He's beginning to get his muscles back.

I love it
when I hear that he is gaining weight and is happy. GO RAFAEL GO! Andale Amigo!
We are rooting for you!